Upland Brewing plans Fountain Square restaurant, brewery, bike shop

Upland Brewing Co. plans to open a huge beer hall, beer garden and brewery – with a bicycle shop in the mix – in Fountain Square by spring 2019.

An on-site brewery focused on small-batch innovative beers and barrel aging is part of the 13,000-square-foot complex opening spring 2019 at the shuttered Value World discount retail store at 1201 E. Prospect St.

"We wanted to create a full destination space, all the while being true to our values and our culture," Upland Chief Growth Officer David Bower said. "We're really excited and overwhelmed with the positive response."

The brewpub will have a local-first focus, Bower said, featuring local ingredients in the food, as well as the beer. Onsite brewing will allow Upland's brewers to experiment with small batches of beer, and 10 of the brewery's 26 taps will be dedicated to the innovative brews.

"It will allow our brewers to be creative," Bower said. "When working on a larger scale, there are some limitations there."

The roasty malt flavor of Upland Brewing Co.'s Old Elmer porter beer pops in the most delicious way against the chili pepper flavor and soaks into the black beans. Find this bison chili at Upland's tap room in Carmel.(Photo: Liz Biro/The Star)

"I'm especially excited to collaborate with the brewers on our pickling and preserve program," Upland culinary director Paddy Cullen said at Upland's website, where the new location was announced.

Gray Goat Bicycle Company will operate a hub offering a full-service bike repair shop, parts and accessories and sales of new and used bikes.

Pairing cycling and craft beer is a trend in other cities, Gray Goat owner Brian Gootee said, and he had been looking at how to bring the concept to Indianapolis.

"It's a great pairing of like-minded individuals in a lot of ways," Gootee said. "Fountain Square was an area we've been looking at for the past couple of years, so when (Upland) approached us about this, it was like, it's at the forefront of my mind. It was a no-brainer."

This will be Gray Goat's third location. Gootee launched the business in 2003 with a goal of contributing to Indianapolis' growing bike culture. The brewery and bike shop fits that goal, he said.

"I think the way we're doing it there, it should be really well received," Gootee said. "We've got a lot of things that are trending for sure in terms of the culture of Indy and cycling. It's always been deep in our core but it’s never really sprouted roots and taken hold yet and I feel like we're at ground zero to really make that happen."

Upland is known for innovative sour ales, putting twists on traditional beer recipes and popping off its own imaginative beers. Brewers have finished beers in wine barrels from Indiana’s Oliver Winery. Each year, the company stages its Sour Wild Funk Fest featuring sour, wild and funky beers. The April 2018 festival featured 150 beers from 50 breweries.

"We've been very thoughtful about how we could add rather than subtract to the neighborhood," Bower said. 'We want to continue to help that neighborhood to develop without changing those essential qualities that make Fountain Square Fountain Square."